Are the Detroit Pistons interested in acquiring Elton Brand?

Some speculation from the Philadelphia based website, Tom Moore the Philly Burbs 76ers blogger, about a recent ESPN chat with Chad Ford is speculating on a possible Pistons-76ers trade sending Elton Brand to Detroit.

January 27, PhilyBurbs: ESPN's Chad Ford said in a Tuesday online chat that "from what my sources around the league are saying, (Elton) Brand is available."

Sixers president Ed Stefanski signed Brand to a five-year, $82 million contract on July 9. But Brand, a 10th-year power forward, hasn't had the on-court impact the Sixers had hoped and won seven of eight games at the end of a 16-game stretch he missed with a dislocated right shoulder.

Later, Ford wrote: "The question is, given how poorly (Brand has) played this year and his huge contract, does anyone want him (by the Feb. 19 trade deadline)?"

The 30-year-old Brand is earning $13.8 million this season.

Ford speculated that the Pistons might be interested in trading Philly native Rasheed Wallace, who is in the final year of his contract, for Brand, but doubted if Detroit president Joe Dumars would be willing to take back Brand's additional four years and $68 million.

Brand is an interesting player that was the top available free agent last summer, leaving the Los Angeles Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers. The problem is that Brand missed almost the whole season last year with a ruptured left Achilles' tendon, a pretty serious injury, and has missed numerous games this season with a dislocated shoulder. Even though the two injuries are not related, with Brand turning 30 in a few months it raises a flag.

If Joe Dumars could be convinced that Brand would return to the same player he's been his whole career instead of the current version, then he would definitely think hard about trying to work out a deal with Philadelphia with the hopes of making Brand a Piston.

Although Ford's idea of sending Rasheed Wallace back home to his native Philadelphia seems like something that both teams would balk at. For the Pistons, this would leave the Pistons without the promise of the large amount of cap space that Dumars has been working to have for the summer of 2010.

For the 76ers, it's hard to believe that Stefanski would attempt to unload Brand for solely cap relief just months after committing to the star power forward. The 76ers would need more than the expiring contract of Rasheed Wallace. Rip Hamilton is another native Pennsylvanian, and the prospect of a Andre Miller-Rip Hamilton backcourt may be pretty enticing to Stefanski.